The Reason
by Veeshan Dragonheart
Summary: Riddick finally returns home...to Jack, and his daughter.


I wrote this little ficlet after listening to Hoobastank's "The Reason" while at work one day. I have it burned onto a cd, and when it came on, I was trying to think up some good fanfiction stuff for Riddick and Jack that I could write when I got home. This is what I came up with, though in my head, its like a music video. Every detail is sharp and clear in my head, and I can see it like watching a movie run by. I hope it works for you too - turn on Hoobastank and read away! 

**The Reason**

The bushes around him rustled faintly against his legs, pulling at the dark material as he pushed past. Strong arms raised and he lifted himself into the tree nearest the house, climbing quietly until he reached the familiar fork in the branches that seemed grown just to fit his body. Easing back into the rough bark, he waited, shining eyes focused on the window opposite of his perch.

I'm not a perfect person  
As many things I wish I didn't do  
But I continue learning  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know-

A light came on in the room, and he slid furthur into the shadows as he watched the movement inside. A tall, slender woman, her dark curling hair pulled back to the nape of her neck, came into the room carrying a small child of about four. The little girl's hair fell in a haphazard mass over the woman's arm and down, swinging gently as her mother brought her to her little bed.

Riddick lifted his goggles for a better view, his gaze never wavering from the window. His shoulders slumped as the woman tucked the little girl under the sheets and bent to kiss her forehead. A smile brightened the woman's delicate features as she looked down at her daughter, still sound asleep. Her shoulders lifted in a sigh before she moved to turn on the girls night light, and left the room.

The branches creaked in protest as Riddick moved closer until he could have reached out and touched the window. His hands gripped at the tree until it began to cut into his hands, and his voice sounded in a whisper.

"Jack..."

I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you-

Riddick became lost in his memories as he looked through the slightly frosted glass at the little girl, her chest rising and falling steadily in sleep. Jade. His daughter.

_When he rose in the middle of the night, leaving Jack asleep in their bed, he assumed no one would hear him. Taking the time only to pick up a handful of credits and his goggles, he headed for the door. _

The past few months had been tense for all three of them. Despite his best efforts, a merc had stumbled upon Riddick in the city, and recognized him. They had done everything they possibly could to hide who he was - he had grown out his hair, burned his fingerprints completely from both hands, and had even picked up some dark contacts that nearly hid his shine job. But the minute Riddick had met the eyes of the older merc, he knew he couldn't hide it quite well enough.

The fight between the two of them had been brutal, bloody, and quick. As he stood over the body of the dead man, and looked at the blood on his hands, he knew that his two years of peace had come to an end. No matter what he did, he could never escape his past, and someone would always know him. And as he ran through the streets back to Jack, he also knew that he had to leave the only family he had ever really known. To save them.

I'm sorry that I hurt you  
It's something I must live with everyday  
And all the pain I put you through  
I wish that I could take it all away  
And be the one who catches all your tears  
Thats why i need you to hear-

_"Daddy?" _

Riddick froze at the sound of his daughters timid little voice calling his name. One foot out the door, he had nearly made it.

He turned to look at her standing in the middle of their living room, rubbing one eye sleepily. Her unruly dark curls were a halo around her head, chocolate brown eyes large and shining as she looked at him. He felt his heart constrict painfully at the thought of having to leave her behind, but he couldn't stay now. Any day the mercs would realize he had a family, and they would use them to get to him. Nothing hurt him worse than the thought of his girls being hurt. Jack, Jade. The only people he had ever loved and wanted.

He crouched down and reached for the little girl, and she came immediantly to let him scoop her up. Long fingers stroked her curls, and she looked at him in confusion.

"Where are you going, Daddy?" she asked softly. He sighed and lifted his goggles to look at her. He would remember what she looked like at this moment, until the day he died, if he couldn't return.

"I have to leave for a little while, baby," he rumbled, touching her cheek with a fingertip. She frowned.

"But why?"

Why? How do you tell a two year old that people want to kill her daddy because he used to kill other on a regular basis, that he was an escaped convict, that he wasn't always the smiling man that played with her all weekend and sang to her before bedtime?  
br> He drew in a slow breath before answering. "There are some people here that want to find me and hurt me, and I have to leave so they don't find you and Mommy."

She seemed to contemplate this for a moment, then raised her hand in question. "When will you come back?"

Oh, she was so trusting. She knew he would return. Her Daddy would never leave her forever, how could he possibly? He bit his lip, feeling dampness at the corners of his eyes before he replied. "I don't know, baby. I may be gone for a long time."

Her eyes widened slightly, and her lower lip began to tremble. Oh, gods.

"No, Daddy, don't go away! I promise I'll be good, I won't tell anyone, please don't go Daddy!" Her voice took on that pitiful whine that only small children can do, the sound that yanks at your heartstrings in the most painful way possible until you give in just to make the agony stop. But he couldn't do that, not this time.

He shook his head slowly, and she began to cry, tears running down her face in earnest as she sobbed. He held her against his chest, rubbing her back gently as he spoke soothing words in an effort to calm her. Less than five seconds after her first heart-wrenching cry, Jack appeared from the hallway.

"Riddick?"

A small strangled sound left his throat, and he moved towards Jack, transferring the crying baby to her mother's arms. Jade tried desperatly to hold on to him, but he carefully pried her little fingers away. Jack was staring at him in panic as she began to realize what he was doing.

"Riddick, don't...," she whispered, voice sounded strained. He shook his head again and leaned to kiss her quickly, putting every emotion he felt for her and Jade into that kiss before turning and walking to the door.

"Daddy, noooooooo!"

I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you-

Riddick swiped angrily at his eyes. Nothing had hurt worse than that painful scream coming from his daughter, and he would do anything to take back what had happened. But he had to go. Even as he left the house, he had felt the smothering presence of the mercs on his back, and he had fled in a panic. Anything to keep the men from his family.

He had jumped from one planet to another, spanning the known systems in an effort to keep the mercs off his trail. Everywhere he went, he acquired a new piece to his new identity - new fingerprints, a DNA remapping, and finally, his shine reversal. The last had taken him nearly two months to complete, and afterward, he had to completely re-train himself to work in the daylight. Sunlight wreaked havoc on his senses after all his years in the dark, in a pink and gold tinted world. Every other color in the spectrum dazzled and confused him, and much of the first week was spent stumbling around amongst people with sunglasses on. But he had worked hard to regain everything he had given up all those years ago, and soon enough, his movements were smooth and the sunglasses were discarded. Now he just had to convince the mercs.

He picked up a job bartending in a very prominent club on the main strip of Cladoc, the largest city on the small planet of Avestair. Despite all his years of avoiding and hating contact with the teeming masses, he tried to fit into a new role for himself. He smiled, he laughed with the drunk men as he shut off their tabs, winked and flirted with the beautiful ladies that seemed to flock to his darkness. The new name he had given himself, Derrick, became known to the regulars and his co-workers, and no one gave him any hassle for weeks. But still he waited.

And finally, as he left work one night to head back to his little apartment, hands pulled him into a dark alley, pushing him to his knees in the dirt. He didn't react, other than to be act startled and confused. He schooled his voice into fear as he asked, "What's going on?" A man came to stand before him and turned a flashlight on him.

Riddick winced and moved a hand to shield his eyes, but he was able to peer past the glow to the man holding the light. He was rather tall, sinewy, his messy hair curling near his ears. And Riddick realized who it was. Toombs.

"So you go by the name of Derrick now, do you?" he sneered, laughing as he rolled his eyes. One of the other men caught Riddick's arm and sliced down on the back of his hand drawing blood and wiping it onto a test strip. Riddick yelped and pulled his hand back, pretending to be hurt as the man fed the strip into a little machine.

"Who the hell are you guys? What do you want?" They all ignored him as they watched the screen on the little device, and then the smile fell from Toombs face as it beeped and went quiet. Inwardly, Riddick smiled. That DNA remapping had come in handy, after all.

The mercs seemed to just melt back out of sight, and Riddick rose. It was time to go home.

I'm not a perfect person  
I never meant to do those things to you  
And so I have to say before I go  
That I just want you to know-

He dropped down quietly from the tree, and crept to the back of the house and the sliding glass doors there. Watching silently for a few minutes, he went up the two steps to crouch by the doors, and a few flicks of his fingers had the latch open. He slipped inside and locked the doors behind him before creeping up the stairs, being sure to avoid the fifth as it tended to squeak.

He started to hesitate by the door of the master bedroom, knowing Jack was inside. His fingers hovered over the doorknob for a moment before pulling back. No. Jack had understood, even if she hadn't agreed. Jade was the one that mattered right now.

His boots made a faint muffled sound on the thick hallway carpeting as he made his way to Jade's bedroom. Easing the ajar door open the rest of the way, he breathed in, scenting her. She still smelled like she always had; clean, pure, innocent. When she was only a newborn he had often lay with her on his chest, breathing in that scent and wondering how on earth he had deserved something so perfect and wonderful.

He hadn't deserved her, then. He had just been lucky, and Jack had loved him. But he deserved her now. He had changed his entire world for her, given up everything he had ever known just to hear her call him Daddy. And he would do it right this time.

I've found a reason for me  
To change who I used to be  
A reason to start over new  
and the reason is you-

He eased her out of bed and into his lap, moving her carefully so as not to awaken her. Sitting back in the rocker that still sat by her bed, he cradled her in his arms and stared down at her face. Brushing a few stray curls back from her eyes, he wondered if she would remember him, and if she still loved him. She shifted, one tiny hand coming to lay on his chest, and he began to cry. He wound his fingers into hers, holding that small hand against his heart. And then he heard a small sound at the doorway.

Jack was standing there, staring at him with tears shining in her eyes. He released Jade's hand and held it out for her, beckoning her to come closer.

"Jack," he whispered hoarsely, and she moved hesitantly towards him. He realized that she wasn't sure if it was really him - the hair was different, spiked and dark on his head, and brown eyes that were once a shining molten silver met hers. She raised a hand to tentatively touch his, and when he grasped it to rub her fingers over his mouth and cheeks, she let out a sob. He had done that same exact thing with her every morning when she woke up. She never could seem to wake up before him, it was as though he had an alarm that told him she was going to wake up. When she would open her eyes, she would find him looking at her with a smile, and he would rub her hand over his morning stubble as he told her good morning.

Careful of Jade, she crawled into the chair with him, arranging her legs to drape over his, Jade on top. He clung to them both, pressing kisses into Jack's hair, the tears drying on his face. When Jack finally grew quiet, her sobs dying, he began to tell her everything that had happened. Everything he had gone through to protect them, to save them, and himself. How much he had missed them, all the sleepless nights he had spent wondering how they were doing.

"I knew you would come back, Riddick," Jack whispered. Jade squirmed, her face scrunching a moment before her dark eyes fluttered open to meet her father's steady gaze. She looked at him for several long minutes before she spoke.

"Daddy?"

He was finally home.

I've found a reason to show  
A side of me you didn't know  
A reason for all that I do-


End file.
